When riding a snowmobile, a rider will generally be seated on a straddle seat with his hands on a handlebar and his feet resting on footrests disposed on either side of the seat.
Snowmobiles are frequently operated on uneven terrain. When a snowmobile encounters a bump as it travels over the ground, the rider may wish to raise himself off the seat and support himself on the footrests in a partially standing position to minimize the impact of the bump. When he does this, his weight is supported entirely by the footrests.
When the snowmobile is being operated, and in particular when the rider is supported entirely by the footrests, it is important for the rider's feet to have good traction on the footrests, so as to maintain the rider's feet in position and prevent them from slipping.
One way to provide improved grip on a snowmobile footrest is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,594 (Wubbolts) issued on Aug. 12, 2003 and assigned to the owner of the present application, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Wubbolts describes a snowmobile footrest having foot gripping elements extending upwardly and forwardly from the top surface thereof. While this footrest provides adequate grip for the foot of a rider and prevents slippage in the rearward direction, it is believed that further improvements in snowmobile footrests are possible.